Rising government demands lead to planning push
The Planning Inspectorate will launch a recruitment drive for extra inspectors in the new year, hot on the heels of government moves to hurry through local plan reviews.
Earlier this month, government housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced updated procedures intended to speed up the adoption of local plans, local authority frameworks intended to shape the future direction of development in a local area.
Pennycook is hoping the streamlined new processes will lead to a boost in planning efficiency as more local authorities adopt finalised local plans. Currently, fewer than a third of councils have done so.
Around £48m was also set aside in last month’s budget announcement for the hiring of an additional 350 planning officers, intended to boost capacity in local authority departments.
In an advert posted this week, the government says “increasing demand for local plan examinations” will mean it needs to hire more inspectors, with the government’s new processes due to kick in later next year.
The Planning Inspectorate says it’s still “finalising the job specification” for the role – but is asking candidates to register their interest via an online form, ahead of an application window opening up in 2026.
“Right now, local authorities across England are preparing local plans that will shape their communities for years to come. These plans determine where homes are built, how town centres evolve, and how communities grow sustainably,” said Rebecca Phillips, the Planning Inspectorate’s interim chief planning inspector.
“The Planning Inspectorate needs experienced planning and built environment professionals to join as inspectors to help us meet the increasing demand for local plan examinations.
“If you’re a senior planner, or built environment professional working in consultancy, in the public sector, or in a related field like engineering, law, surveying or architecture and you have substantial planning experience I’d encourage you to consider this opportunity.”
Incredible really. They create a mass of over-engineered bureaucracy in the wake of Grenfell, cause projects to become unviable, and create years worth of delay with others (as well as push up labour costs and increase labour shortages), projects wait and wait for Gateway approval. And their priority is to recruit inspectors to get through the pathetic “local plans”.
When regimes fall, the paperwork often remains and proves illuminating. In this case, those going through it all would be bewildered at what on earth the point of it all was.
By John
Watch LPA suffer when everyone jumps at these opportunities and then plans are delayed
By Anonymous
Will the new planning inspectors have to be the right, or indeed the “left” people?
By Anonymous
As John mentioned (9:06, 13/12), the Planning Inspectorate created a problem around eight years ago by introducing a raft of new rules and regulations. If the existing ones had simply been enforced, the Grenfell disaster could have been avoided.
Local Government Planning teams are, frankly, a joke. Bringing in a new group of inexperienced staff will only make matters worse and more frustrating for those dealing with them. Very few planning deadlines are met; most officers work from home, often part-time, and the worst of them seem to think they are architects.
Unfortunately, this situation is only going to deteriorate as experienced officers retire, leaving behind poorly trained individuals who are indecisive and overly cautious and nots let get started on the toxic local government work culture.
By Steve5839